Queenland’s opposition party has said thrown its support behind the state’s 50c public transport fares, saying it will keep them in place if it wins the next election.
Initially derided as a “cheap gimmick” by the Queensland LNP, leader David Crisafulli called a press conference on Saturday to confirm his party would keep the discount fares in place.
Controversially, Mr Crisafulli held his presser at exactly the same time as Labor leader Steven Miles’ conference to announce his government would keep the fares in place indefinitely.
Subsidising the fares costs the government around $300 million annually, but have been a huge hit and have seen public transport usage rates skyrocket.
It raises the question – should fares be discounted in all states and territories to encourage people to use public transport?
My home state of Victoria has something similar, but not quite as good as Queensland. Here, public transport fares are capped at $10 per day, meaning you can go anywhere in the state (and back again) for no more than a tenner.
Should cheaper public transport fares be expanded everywhere?
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